Bret Jones

At this point in the season, a freshman sire can hardly do better than to win Saratoga's--and the nation's--first graded stakes of the year for 2-year-olds. When that young stallion also leads the nation's first-crop sires in winners with 12 (75% of starters), he's signaling he might be something special. With that kind of start, it's no surprise Airdrie Stud's Complexity, a son of Maclean's Music, is firmly on top of the freshman stallion list at this early juncture. He's also currently leading all sires, regardless of number of crops,...

Nineteen individuals have been elected Breeders' Cup Members by 2023 Breeders' Cup foal and stallion nominators in voting that concluded Monday evening. Each Member will serve a four-year term. The following individuals, listed alphabetically, received the most votes from the Breeders' Cup nominators to fill 19 Member seats: Conrad Bandoroff, Maria Niarchos-Gouaze, Barbara Banke, David O'Farrell, Boyd Browning, Bernie Sams, Doug Cauthen, Alex Solis II, Matt Dorman, Edward (Ned) Toffey, Craig Fravel, Elliott Walden, Eric Gustavson, Barry Weisbord, Bret Jones, Aron Wellman, Gray Lyster, Jacob West, and Clem Murphy. The...

'Saturday afternoon horses' are every breeder's goal. We continue our new weekly series with a young sire who got his first graded win in a high-profile race this past weekend. At this time last year, an unheralded colt parlayed a sole maiden win into victory in the GIII Peter Pan S., which led to Classic success in the GI Belmont S. This year, Antiquarian (Preservationist) is following the same blueprint put in place by Arcangelo (Arrogate): a maiden win early in his sophomore campaign before bursting onto the national scene...

Airdrie Stud, a longtime supporter of Old Friends, has sent MGSW McCraken (Ghostzapper) to reside at the Thoroughbred retirement farm as of Monday, Mar. 25, the non-profit said via a press release early Wednesday morning. The 10-year-old stallion was donated to the farm courtesy of Airdrie, who has made three prior contributions to the Old Friends roster. "It is already evident to me that this well-mannered multiple stakes winner is going to be a real hit with our many visitors to Old Friends," said John Nicholson, President and CEO of...

As we approach the opening of the 2024 breeding season, the TDN staff is once again sitting down with leading breeders to find out what stallions they have chosen for their mares, and why. Today we caught up with Williams S. Sparks of Monroe, Louisiana. Originally from Arkansas where he grew up attending Oaklawn races with his grandfather, Sparks has assembled a band which reflects his philosophy of breeding to race. "I'm really deeply committed to breeding a sound racehorse who is going to do what they do best--run," said...

Mage (Good Magic--Puca, by Big Brown), this year's Grade I Kentucky Derby winner, has been retired from racing and will begin his stallion career at Airdrie Stud for the 2024 breeding season, announced his connections in a press release Monday morning. Racing for the ownership group of OGMA Investments, LLC, CMNWLTH, Sterling Racing, LLC and Ramiro Restrepo and trained by the father-son team of Gustavo Delgado and Gustavo Delgado, Jr, Mage's victory in Kentucky Derby 149 stands as the highlight of a whirlwind 3-year-old campaign that saw him break his...

GISW Creative Cause (Giant's Causeway) has relocated from Kentucky's Airdrie Stud to Marjorie Farms in Texas where he will stand the 2024 season for $6,000. The move was announced Thursday by the Texas Thoroughbred Association. "He has meant a lot to us over the years and I am very thankful that he will be able to continue his career where he will get the mare support he deserves," said Airdrie's Bret Jones. "Texas and generally the Southwest is ready to take a big step forward and the addition of such...

Former Kentucky Governor Brereton C. Jones will lie in state in the rotunda of the Kentucky State Capitol from 10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. this coming Monday, September 25.  The family will receive visitors there from 3:00-7:00 p.m. His funeral will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 26, at Forks of the Elkhorn Baptist Church, 840 Duckers Road, Midway, Kentucky, followed immediately by a private burial. Jones died Monday at the age of 84 at home after a lengthy illness. Jones served as the Commonwealth's 58th governor from 1991-95 and...

One of the first horsemen I met when hired to cover the Thoroughbred industry full time in 1984 was Brereton Jones, who with his wife, Libby, owned Airdrie Stud on Old Frankfort Pike. As journalists, we must always keep a distance from those we cover, in order to remain neutral in our coverage. But when reporting and writing about a specific topic day in and day out, you can't help but become friends with some of those you encounter. Brere and I instantly became friends. We had many on-the-record conversations,...

Shannon Castagnola has been named as Airdrie Stud's new director of sales, the Midway nursery said in a release Friday afternoon. Helping to head up both the stallion nominations and public sales divisions, Castagnola managed the yearling and breeding stock consignments for Woodford Thoroughbreds for the past nine years. "I am thrilled to be working with the incredible Airdrie Stud team," said Castagnola. "It's energizing to be working with a farm this diversified and with such a tremendous history of success. From the beautifully bred mares whose families have been...

Seven new members were elected to the Jockey Club of America, which include Gary Fenton, Eric Gustavson, Bret Jones, Jane Lyon, Michael Mulvihill, David O'Rourke and Mandy Pope, the organization said in a release early Thursday morning. Fenton has been the managing partner of Little Red Feather Racing, a racing syndicate based in California, since 2005, and he is on the board of the Thoroughbred Owners of California and has been chairman since 2021. Over the last 17 years, Gustavson has overseen Spendthrift's growth as it acquired, raced and launched...

Bill Strauss and Bret Jones have both been named to the Board of Directors of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. The two, who are the first new members added to the board since three members were added in 2018, bring the total number of current board members to 11. "We've made ourselves better and stronger with the addition of these two fine gentlemen," said board member and Del Mar CEO Joe Harper. "When you can pick up a pair of individuals who love racing and have rich histories in the...